402 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
Survey (Chart No. 814). The holding ground is good, and it affords 
excellent protection from all winds. Messrs. Lynde & Hough, of San 
Francisco, have established a fishing and trading station on the north 
side of the bay, where they have all necessary appliances for salting 
salmon. There is a wharf at which ships 7 boats can land at any stage 
of the tide. Mr. O’Brien, the superintendent of the station, seemed 
much interested in the progress of our work, and the captain of the 
Arago gave us such information concerning the regions about the 
Shumagins and Sannakhs as he had gained by several years’ fishing in 
their waters. His reasons for going to Bristol Bay were that the fish 
ran a little larger and the weather was much better, there being less 
fog and smoother water. 
August came in with a dense fog which partially cleared towards 
noon, only to shut down thicker than ever for the remainder of the day. 
Uur work, up to this time, was done without the services of a pilot, but 
it frequently resulted in the loss of time and expenditure of fuel, try- 
ing to recognize our landfalls through mist and fog where it was the 
exception to see more than a single point at a time, and that dimly, a 
condition of affairs requiring local knowledge. Fortunately Capt. Paul 
M. Pavloff, one of the best coast pilots in the Aleutians, arrived during 
the morning, and we lost no time in securing his services. 
Preparations were made to get under way at 4 a. m. August 2, but 
the fog was so thick, and the rain pouring down so heavily, that we 
held on until 6:40, when the sun appearing through the mist enabled us 
to leave the harbor and steam through Popoff Strait. At 7:30 we cast 
the trawl in 69 fathoms, green mud, No. 2849, makiug a successful haul 
notwithstanding the rocky bottom, which tore the net badly. The fog 
settled again while the trawl was down, obscuring the land on every 
side, which, with the general aspect of the weather, was so unpromis- 
ing that we thought it advisable to seek an anchorage. Steaming across 
the strait at 9:45 a. m. we anchored in Eagle Harbor. A vessel may 
anchor anywhere in the harbor in from 15 to 22 fathoms, and in the 
cove on the northern side she would find perfect protection from the 
sea, where she could haul out for repairs, fill her water casks, or gather 
driftwood on the beach. The south cove has a narrow tortuous entrance, 
too shoal for anything larger than a ship’s boat at low water, but a ves- 
sel drawing 6 or 8 feet could be warped or towed in at high tide, and 
once inside would be as secure as in a dock. 
The weather cleared toward midday, giving us the first distinct view 
of the Shumagins, among which we had been cruising. Being too late 
in the day to start on our contemplated line, we spent the afternoon in 
drying sails aud various gear, sounding, setting a trawl line, and mak- 
ing general collections. Unfortunately the line was set on the bar at 
the mouth of the harbor in about 17 fathoms, mud. But the fact of 
taking cod and halibut under such unfavorable circumstances augurs 
well for the future success of the shore fisheries, 
